SQL Pagination with LIMIT and OFFSET
Combine both to slice a sorted result into pages — exactly how most app UIs implement 'page 2, page 3...'
What & Why
Pagination combines LIMIT (page size) with OFFSET (which page). For a page size of 2: page 1 is OFFSET 0, page 2 is OFFSET 2, page 3 is OFFSET 4 — the offset is always (page_number - 1) * page_size.
See How It Works
BUSINESS QUESTION
Page 2 of a 2-per-page campaign listing, sorted by spend descending.
| id | name | channel | spend | start_date | end_date | status | target_segment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spring Launch | google_ads | 55000.00 | 2024-01-15 | 2024-03-31 | active | smb |
| 2 | Retention Webinar | 45000.00 | 2024-02-10 | 2024-04-15 | active | enterprise | |
| 3 | Finance Retargeting | 50000.00 | 2024-03-12 | 2024-05-31 | active | enterprise | |
| 4 | Enterprise Search | google_ads | 60000.00 | 2024-04-01 | 2024-06-30 | active | enterprise |
EXAMPLE QUERY
SELECT name, spend FROM marketing.campaigns
ORDER BY spend DESC
LIMIT 2 OFFSET 2;RESULT — page 2
| name | spend |
|---|---|
| Finance Retargeting | 50000.00 |
| Retention Webinar | 45000.00 |
Page 1 (OFFSET 0) would have returned Enterprise Search and Spring Launch instead — the two highest-spend campaigns.
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